Purdue visits Iowa on Wednesday night in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
Huh?
It’s obviously a regular-season game. But the Big Ten’s coldest teams might need to look at their showdown in Carver-Hawkeye Arena as an NCAA tournament play-in game.
It isn’t a must win for Iowa (17-8, 6-6), which has lost four in a row. But Purdue (13-11, 5-8), which has lost five straight, probably can’t afford another loss.
“The loser of this game really hurts their postseason chances greatly,” Iowa coach Steve Alford said. “There’s a lot of pressure that’s going to be applied to this game. I think they know that and we obviously have got to know that.”
Both teams have been hampered by injuries to starters. But while the NCAA tournament selectors take injuries into consideration, they also look at a team’s finish. The Hawkeyes and Boilermakers both are in free-fall as the postseason approaches.
Asked if it was time to push the panic button, Alford said, “I don’t know if it’s the panic button. It’s definitely a pressure button.”
With his lineup devastated by injuries, Purdue coach Gene Keady isn’t thinking about the NCAAs.
“We’re just trying to teach them to play the game right,” Keady said. “It’s really a research lab for us right now.
“You just can’t win Big Ten games with three freshmen and three sophomores and your upperclassmen banged up. We’re just trying to be positive right now.”
Lions roar: Penn State didn’t make it to a bowl game in football, its signature sport. But the Nittany Lions (16-7, 6-6) are looking like a strong contender for an NCAA tournament at-large berth.
The Nittany Lions face Northwestern on Wednesday in Evanston, then meet Michigan State on Saturday before finishing at Iowa and against Ohio State.
If Penn State can split those four games, it would finish .500 in the Big Ten and be virtually assured a bid. But even one win in the four might be enough if the Lions can pull a victory out of the Big Ten tournament.
Penn State has built a strong case with wins over Kentucky in Lexington, Temple, Ohio State and Illinois.
“I don’t want to get into the brackets, but I know they’ve had some terrific wins,” Northwestern coach Bill Carmody said. “You still have a couple of weeks left in the season, but they’re certainly right there.”
Block party: Ohio State’s Ken Johnson needs only two blocks to become the Big Ten’s career leader. The record belongs to former Penn Stater Calvin Booth, who blocked 428 shots from 1995-99.
The 6-foot-11-inch Johnson had considered turning pro last spring after being named the Big Ten’s defensive player of the year, but chose to return for his final season. He has 107 blocked shots this season, an average of 4.1 per game, by far the most in the Big Ten.
“He’s come a long way,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. “I’m glad he stayed in school. I’m also glad he’s going to be gone.”
Baselines: Asked if he were frustrated by inconsistent application of the NCAA’s new emphasis on cleaning up rough play, Alford said, “I’m probably more frustrated with the inconsistency of our players.”
After watching Michigan State shred his Hawkeyes 94-70 Sunday, Alford said the Spartans compare favorably with last year’s MSU team, which won the national title. “Obviously I don’t think they have the quality of leadership they had last year in Mateen Cleaves,” Alford said. “Aside from that, they may be just as good, if not better. They’re just as strong up front. The Taylor kid (point guard Marcus Taylor) is getting better and better and can probably hurt you more scoring than Cleaves did.”
